#imprisoning war impa

[kikker-oma]

" Impa felt her heart break once more, but it also spurred her to speak again, and she moved her hand from his back to his cheek, making him look at her. “I love you dearly, Link. And I… I will take care of you. All I ask is that you… you live. Please, love. If for nothing or no one else, for me. Just… just live.” "

Link to the fic!

Happy late birthday to my dearest friend @skyloftian-nutcase !! 🎉🎉🎉 I hope I did your request justice, love❤️ you are so so important to me🫂

[skyloftian-nutcase]

Prisoner of War (Imprisoning War)

Despite the chaos of the battle, something distinct caught Ganondorf’s attention. In a sea of red hair and brown skin paired with leather and steel, in a sea of armor and white banners, there was light gold, like the pale yellow chrysanthemums Orik had gifted to Hemisi.

Orik. Link.

Link was here.

Damn that child. He’d told him to stay away. He knew the boy hadn’t listened, but to have the audacity to fight where Ganondorf himself was…

Well, he had to admit the boy had far more gumption to him than he’d realized. It was no wonder Hemisi had fallen for him.

Ganondorf caught the attention of his commander. “Bring Link to me. Alive.”

XXX

It had been no small feat.

Link was a menace on the battlefield. The boy had gotten far better with that blasted sword, swinging it with ease, dodging and weaving around the Gerudo and monster attacks. He clearly still favored getting in close and personal, often tripping up his enemies so they’d lose their footing before he dove in for a finishing blow. There was no hesitation to it, either – the young fighter was no stranger to killing at this point.

Nevertheless, he went down when Ganondorf cut off the reinforcements that were around him, leaving him to be overwhelmed.

With their Hero captured, the enemy forces had to fall back. It seemed Link was enough of a powerhouse that they couldn’t win the fight without him – at least their general thought so.

Ganondorf waited in his tent, adrenaline fresh in his system, slowly taking his armor off as the guards dragged the boy to him. He heard their approach easily; Link was moaning, clearly hurt, and it made the Gerudo king tense up instinctively.

When they entered the tent, the women tossed the boy on the ground, and he let out a cry of pain. Ganondorf watched him a moment, eyes flicking up to his soldiers, and he dismissed them. Link shriveled into himself a little, though he didn’t seem to move his right leg, which looked misshapen.

Broken, most likely.

A part of the king felt vindicated. This is what happens when you don’t listen, he wanted to growl. But the way Link squeezed his eyes shut, tears mixing with sweat, face stained with blood and dirt…

Ganondorf sighed, kneeling down in front of him. “I told you to stay out of this, boy.”

Link grunted, breaths sharp and unsteady.

Ganondorf supposed there was little need to drive the point home. He’d said what he needed to. The lack of apology or acknowledgement was irritating, but understandable given the boy’s state.

The boy’s state. He remembered seeing the teenager laughing, throwing powders that matched every hue of light into the air during the Festival of Colors. He remembered seeing the boy smiling as he taught Hemisi traditional Sheikah dances and songs. He remembered the young man’s keen eyes glowing with wonder as he’d listened to him tell stories. He remembered the child’s desperate look for comfort, his fear and trust when he’d been so ill he could hardly breathe. He remembered the warmth in his heart when he’d taught the boy how to shave, how those expressive red eyes watched his every move, reminding him so much of Merovar’s younger years that it almost hurt.

And here now, he saw a warrior, bloodied and bruised and broken and in pain.

Ganondorf bit his tongue. Then he sighed, gently picking the boy up and laying him on the cot nearby. Link hissed in pain, jerking his entire body as his broken leg was jostled. The Gerudo didn’t bother to apologize for hurting the boy, still irate, but there was little point in arguing with the softer side that was screaming he clean the child up.

What would he do with him? He wondered as he slowly stripped the boy of his armor, removing first his belt and scarf, then his boot off his uninjured leg. He should have the boy taken back to Lagema, where he could be kept safe and out of the way. Hemisi would no doubt be thrilled.

Hemisi. He definitely wasn’t going to tell her about this until the boy was secured in the Gerudo capital. The last thing he needed was for her to get distracted. Though, perhaps she’d be even more motivated to ferociously defend the desert knowing she was protecting him as well as everyone else, rather than fighting against him. Who knew. The teenage drama that had been unfolding between the pair because of this conflict was an entirely different matter that Ganondorf did not have patience for at the moment.

Perhaps it was best Hemisi didn’t know for a good while. She would remain at her station on the edge of Hyrule territory, safe from the main conflict.

But if he wasn’t saving this boy for his daughter’s sake, then… what was he doing??

You know damn well that you’ve gotten attached too, his mind taunted him as he sighed heavily. He reached carefully for Link’s other boot, shushing him as he winced and moaned while he removed it.

Link lay trembling on the cot now, looking far too broken and beaten down for the Gerudo king’s liking. He pulled away the dark mask the boy wore, showing his young face, showing the tear tracks and the way he bit his tongue to stop himself from screaming and showing weakness.

He told himself he’d clean the boy up once he’d stripped off some more layers, reaching for his gloves next. Link needed a bath and a potion (a part of him wanted the boy to stay injured, as a lesson and a means to ensuring he didn’t escape, while another part of him screamed to heal him now, to stop his moans and cries and soothe his tears).

The right glove came off easily. The left—

Link hissed, pulling his hand away. Ganondorf gently reached for it again. “Let me look, child.”

Link glared in return, breaths coming in shaky heaves.

The Gerudo king huffed. “Of my three children, you were the gentlest and sweetest. Strange that you went to war first.”

“You started it!” Link snapped before wincing as he tried to sit up.

“I do remember your temper,” Ganondorf remarked, gently pushing him back down. “I warned you not to get involved, Link. I had you captured to protect you, and you still don’t think I’ll help you? Let me see your hand.”

“You betrayed—” Link cut himself off, lips trembling.

“Betrayed who?” Ganondorf asked, mildly annoyed. “You?”

There was silence for a long time, neither man breaking eye contact. Then Link muttered, tiredly, brokenly, “You’d said you cared. That you…”

The boy swallowed his words, doubling down on an attempt to be stoic and strong.

I put my entire operation at risk for you, idiotic child, he almost snapped, but Ganondorf didn’t voice it. He had no reason to justify himself to this boy. Instead, he said, “The Triforce is mine, Link.”

“It belongs to—”

“A foolish king!” Ganondorf interrupted. “Who throws his power away at anyone who grovels enough! Such a man is unworthy of divine power!”

“Ozen isn’t king anymore!” Link argued, sitting up again, breath growing erratic as he fought through the pain to make his point. “Zelda is the rightful ruler of Hyrule, and she’s a far better leader than you ever will be! She doesn’t put her people in peril for her own selfish desires! You ingratiated yourself to everyone so you could steal the Triforce, you never cared!”

Anger surged through him, and Ganondorf channeled it quickly, backhanding the defiant teenager. The force of the blow nearly sent the boy careening off the cot, but Link recovered quickly, glaring at him as if he hadn’t felt it despite how his lip bled.

They were getting nowhere. This boy wouldn’t listen! Ganondorf should just kill him and be done with it!

“Did your time with us mean so little to you?” he said in a low voice, surprising himself at the regret panging in his chest all of a sudden. Where had that come from? “Did Hemisi mean so little to you?”

Link’s anger melted in an instant, eyes widening, hurt evident. For a moment, Ganondorf saw the sweet, placating child he’d known, the fierce warrior fading into the background. “I… it… sh-she… she meant everything to me.”

That was a lie and he knew it. But the tears in the boy’s eyes were genuine, and Ganondorf hated how it was working on him.

“Yet you fight her people, her father,” he snapped in return.

Link’s tears vanished, replaced with a rage he hadn’t seen in the boy. “Did you expect me to lay down and let you try to destroy my country?”

“I expected loyalty if you truly loved her,” Ganondorf rebuked, voice darkening.

“You expect groveling,” Link hissed. “You expect slavery. My loyalty isn’t blind, I’m not the idiot you think I am!”

This was going nowhere and he knew it. His own temper was rising, and Link was working himself up so much his face was actually draining of color like he was about to pass out.

Idiot child, he berated the boy in his mind. And he berated himself – why had he thought it was a good idea to capture him?

It was honestly pointless denying that he’d grown attached to the boy. But it was equally pointless to see this ending well. Link was too far gone… wasn’t he?

He’d spared that boy when Link had found the Master Sword. Of all the times—if Ganondorf were to have ever killed him, it would have been then. It wasn’t as if the Gerudo king hadn’t been surprised, perhaps even horrified at the sight of it – a sword of destiny, imbued with divine power to defeat darkness, etched into the fabric of destiny and history as a beacon of hope for Hyrule against its enemies… and it was in the hands of a child Ganondorf had grown to love.

Link. It was supposed to be an anomaly. That name wasn’t supposed to mean anything. Destiny wasn’t supposed to meddle with his family.

Ganondorf gritted his teeth. Din’s warning echoed in the back of his mind, and he grew angrier for it. How dare she try to torment him like this? She, who had given him a second chance at life, who had placed him in this land after he’d nearly died at the hands of the sages, who had listened to his plea when she’d offered him an alternative, only for her to tear his family apart?

He felt his eyes widen a little at the thought of it. Since when had he started viewing Link as family, anyway? He’d known from the beginning, even from the night before the assault, that the boy would not join their fight.

Link fell back on to the pillow of the cot, whimpering a little at the sudden movement as he lost his strength. He tried to save face, scrunching his face and refusing to look the king in the eye. Ganondorf sighed, taking a step back to give them both some space.

He supposed he had presumed Link would join them when it was done. Because there wasn’t supposed to be a war. Not like this. It was supposed to be swift, decisive, quick and clean. The original plan was to take the Triforce and immediately take Hyrule with it. That would have simplified things. Ganondorf didn’t mind getting his hands dirty, and a war wasn’t going to stop him, but if it had gone the way it was supposed to, he’d already be ruling all the lands, his wife at his side, and his children would be happy.

Besides… now that war had broken out and he was seeing Link as a fierce warrior, he felt… even more admiration for the kid. The sweet Sheikah who was always so shy and quiet and acquiescing, who held a little mischief to his eye whenever Hemisi pulled him into silliness, who was always respectful, who had enough grit to prove to a culture of warriors that he could hold his own in a fight at twelve years old… he was really coming into his own. Ganondorf had to respect the boy’s determination, had to smile at how the little glimpses he’d gotten of the iron will the boy held were finally shining through. The Gerudo king had always loved a challenge, and the boy was certainly both presenting himself as one and rising up to meet the one he was facing.

Either way, he had to figure out what to do with the boy now. He’d mull it over more as he finished cleaning him up. The fewer words they said to each other, the better. He knelt down carefully, putting a hand over the boy’s chest to quietly let him know he was there.

Link’s eyes barely opened, sluggish and exhausted. Ganondorf gently pulled the hair tie out of the knots that had formed around clots in his hair, letting it fall down into the mess that it was. The boy feebly moved at the touch, sniffling. He was too tired to put up a fight anymore, as the king suspected he might be. The vulnerability that was laid bare as a result made Ganondorf’s heart ache far more than it had any right to.

“Oh, Link,” he sighed.

At the sound of his name, Link’s eyes opened entirely now, tracing around confusedly at the ceiling before settling on the king. The blood from where he’d hit him earlier had started to clot, leaving a trail of red syrupy crust from his lip to his ear. Ganondorf’s gut churned a little at the sight of it, and he was strangely on edge.

He’s not family yet, he reminded himself. He’s still fighting for the enemy.

This conflicting loyalty was growing tiring and irritating, but he still needed to follow through with the original plan. He was a man of action, not indecisive debate based on sentimentality. Looking the teenager over, he saw where he’d left off, one fingerless leather glove remaining on Link’s left hand. The boy had pulled away when he’d touched it, so it was likely hurt.

Ganondorf took the boy’s hand in his own. Whatever injury Link had, he could—

The glove slipped off Link’s trembling fingers easily, revealing a sacred mark.

The blessing of Farore was etched on his skin, like the remnants of a kiss from the goddess herself.

Ganondorf stared.

What?!

All this time, he’d been looking for the other pieces of the Triforce. All this time, he’d been waging war with little idea how he would actually obtain his goal.

And it was hidden in his child.

The goddesses truly did love to torment him, didn’t they? Or was this some sort of sign that he should bring the boy into the fold and protect him?

But Link knew. He knew what this signified, because he was trying to hide it, because the boy still tried to pull his hand away, succeeded in doing so as Ganondorf’s grip went slack.

He felt his temper rise to the forefront, and he rose with it. “You have one of the pieces?”

Link tucked his left hand into his armpit as if it could hide the evidence, eyes halfheartedly glaring behind a very thinly veiled fear.

He was afraid of him. Of course he was afraid of him. Ganondorf was his enemy.

Link had chosen that path! Ganondorf had warned him at their last confrontation, despite the obvious signs that he should kill the boy! He’d told him to stay out of the fight! And now, after ignoring such an order, he willingly kept the Triforce of Courage away from him! It was clear the boy’s loyalty was to the crown, as Ganondorf had always known it would be, and nothing would change that. He wasn’t going to swear his fealty to Hemisi or Ganondorf. He never would!

To think he was so close to achieving everything that he wanted…

Ganondorf swallowed, swallowed his temper and tried one last time.

“Give it to me,” he said as calmly as he could, reaching his hand out.

Link’s fear evaporated, replaced only with determination, eyes hardening.

Ganondorf’s patience snapped, and he threw his hand down, ramming it into the child’s broken leg. “GIVE IT TO ME!”

Link screamed. It tore into Ganondorf’s mind, shredding the red haze that clouded his vision, but his heart raced and his desire for power thrummed just as loudly.

He wasn’t giving up his plans for a boy who wasn’t even family, who purposefully chose to not join his family. He refused. He gripped the warrior’s broken leg more firmly and, with his other hand, reached for his left wrist. Link couldn’t fight him, completely overrun with agony, but despite the sacred relic staring at him and mocking him, he couldn’t access it.

“Give up the Triforce of Courage or perish!” Ganondorf threatened.

Link gasped for air before seeming to get a hold of himself. He watched Ganondorf a moment, giving the king a moment of hope, before the boy spat at him, eyes vicious.

Ganondorf grabbed the brat by the throat, raising him into the air, snarling with fury. Link struggled, left leg trying to kick, tears freely falling as he clutched desperately at the man’s grip around his neck.

Tears. Tears.

He’s crying. You’re killing him.

He was a traitor!!

He’s a child!

He was standing between Ganondorf and victory!

Hemisi won’t forgive you for killing him.

Hemisi had to learn how to handle the cruelty of the world. This boy was a traitor to her as well as him.

You love him too.

Ganondorf’s grip tightened. Link’s struggling grew weaker.

The Gerudo king let out a shaky exhale, letting his fingers relax a little, other hand reaching up to grip the boy’s tunic instead as he finally released his throat. Link rasped, a wretched, unhealthy sound, and Ganondorf felt his stomach churn, remembering when the boy had sand fever and he’d cared for him.

Look what you did.

He deserved it! The boy was an enemy!

Ganondorf grit his teeth, letting magic surge through his arm. It hardened, crystallizing around the child, leaving Link floating in an amber prison within seconds. The boy tried to cling to consciousness, hands desperately pressed against his cage, exhaustion evident, emotions raw. He leaned his head against the amber, and Ganondorf’s hand hovered over his forehead, touching cool, magical stone instead of soft, bloody skin.

He needed to calm down. He couldn’t kill Link. If nothing else, it could make the Triforce of Courage disappear entirely.

The boy’s screams still echoed in his head, despite the silence from him now. He doubted Link could make a sound through his damaged throat. His breaths came in high pitched gasps, alarming some part of his mind that told him his breathing could get worse.

Ganondorf shook his head. He couldn’t stay in here. He walked away, leaving Link’s fate to the goddess who cursed him with her grace. If the boy was still alive when he returned, cooler heads would prevail. Perhaps Ganondorf would clean him up and heal him then.

Perhaps.

XXX

Impa barely listened as the officers around her bickered.

Their loss was catastrophic in nearly every way. The majority of their battles up to this point had been skirmishes, aside from siege on the Wastelands and the Battle of Hyrule Field. It had been a back and forth between the warring factions, monster camps taking military bases, Hyrule soldiers tracking down Gerudo pockets. But this…

To attack the lands of the Mountains and Forests of peace, the seat of power for the sages and the land of the forgotten temple where the Master Sword had been rediscovered, was to attack the soul of Hyrule. Ganondorf had been very precise in this battle, and he’d brought all his power and soldiers with him. The Sage of Lightning had been killed, and—

Orik.

The chief of the Sheikah felt her heart clench at the thought of her youngest brethren in war. She’d tried, as best she could, to look after the young man ever since he’d passed his trials – he was the youngest ever to do so, and it made her worry, despite knowing that he’d earned the right and had no need to be coddled. Nevertheless, as his chief, he was her responsibility as much as anyone else.

Link had stepped up in every way possible, and had even been chosen by the goddesses to truly deserve the Hylian name his mother had given him. He’d helped Impa fight for Zelda during the coup to overthrow King Ozen. He was one of Hyrule’s best soldiers.

And now, he’d been captured.

The Hyrulian army was in a frenzy. They’d lost a sage and the Hero. They’d lost their sacred grounds, watching the sacrilege of Gerudo banners lay claim to the land after their leader had desecrated their most sacred relic.

And Link held a piece of it.

Impa’s heart thrummed in her chest. Ganondorf will kill him to claim it. If he hasn’t already.

She couldn’t just sit on this. They couldn’t limp away and lick their wounds and prepare for an entirely new battle. They had to act quickly.

But the officers were too busy panicking, bickering. She listened halfheartedly, mind buzzing and clouded at the same time, before she bit her tongue to help her focus. Their soldiers were still trying to recover, having retreated to the fortress near the Lost Woods. She’d sent word to the capital to ensure that Castle Town was fortified, as Ganondorf’s forces were closer than ever to try another assault.

They couldn’t sit on this failure. They had to retaliate.

But they needed more soldiers for a full-frontal assault. Her Sheikah warriors had been nearly cut in half due to the coup – there were still many who were injured and some who were imprisoned and had yet declared their loyalty to Zelda over Ozen. General Enos’ army had been fairly depleted form this fight. House Serenne could perhaps loan their personal militia as this was their territory, foolishly given to them by the former king. While Serenne looked out for its own agendas, this was a matter of survival. Impa vaguely heard the general speak as much, claiming to send word to them. It could take a day or two to get a response and organize a counterattack.

Impa finally interjected the inane babbling in the war tent. “We don’t have time. We don’t have time for any of this. We need to attack their camp now.”

“And how exactly do you propose we do that?” the general asked, frustrated. “We hardly have the men.”

Impa bit her lip. “Retaking the land is the ultimate goal, but it shouldn’t be our priority right now. Link holds both the Master Sword and the Triforce of Courage. Our focus should be on getting him back before they can kill him or extricate him.”

The other officers murmured worriedly, an anxious energy filling the air.

“I can gather my people to infiltrate the camp,” Impa continued. “But we’ll need a distraction.”

The general’s brow lowered heavily over his eyes. “You’re suggesting we use my troops as bait.”

Impa met his gaze, face stony. What other options did they have? There was no time to gather a larger force. “I am. But we just need to rescue the Hero. With that as our objective, we can retreat as soon as we have him.”

Hopefully too many won’t die, she implied.

General Enos sighed heavily. “Gather your forces, then. We will attack at dusk. The cover of nightfall should help. I will send someone to contact House Serenne for reinforcements in the larger assault. In the meantime, we’ll wait for word from Queen Zelda.”

Impa nodded, leaving the tent. Hang in there, Link. We’re coming.

XXX

Ganondorf had to admit, he’d definitely been finding reasons to avoid the tent. However, they were valid reasons. He had to ensure that they held this territory – he’d attacked Hyrule’s most sacred land in the hopes that it would reveal the location of the other two Triforce pieces, and it had certainly done that. But now he had to hold this land, both to potentially find the Triforce of Wisdom and to rub it into Hyrule’s face. Such a victory was hugely impactful, and it could break the enemy’s spirit entirely, especially given that its new ruler was so young and inexperienced.

But after twenty-four hours of taking tally of the casualties, making plans to fortify their stronghold, and looking at maps to see where they should investigate and attack next, he could no longer avoid visiting the makeshift prison cell he’d created.

He’d given himself time to calm down, at least, and the distractions had helped. He still wasn’t happy with Link – the boy was actively in defiance of him, refusing to give him the Triforce of Courage. He wondered if killing him would extract it, or if it would simply make it move to another location. He couldn’t risk losing the sacred relic, and…

He wasn’t ready to go that far yet. Not… not yet.

He still had to clean the boy up and heal him. Mostly. He would send him back to Lagema where Hyrule’s forces couldn’t reach him, where the boy had no chance of escaping. And perhaps he’d eventually come to his senses, but Ganondorf wasn’t really holding out hope. It was foolish to assume such a thing would happen, even if his heart ached for it.

A pity, really.

The Gerudo king’s walk back to the tent was interrupted, however, when there was a cry from one of the sentries. “Enemies spotted to the south!”

Ganondorf immediately changed directions, moving towards the guard’s post to see what she was talking about. It was a fairly large group, seemingly the remainder of the army they’d encountered yesterday. He hadn’t expected a counterattack so quickly, not after they’d retreated as they had.

“Send the beasts,” he ordered. The monsters could handle the first wave – his women were recovering as well. This would thin the enemy’s numbers first.

The hair on the back of his neck stood up. He had a bad feeling about this.

On the other end of the Gerudo camp, ten Sheikah snuck in through the shadows, quickly killing the guards in the area. Impa motioned silently, ordering her brethren to fan out, and they spread across the camp while the majority of its inhabitants lined the southern border.

Impa moved towards the center of the camp, figuring Link would be somewhere well guarded, but saw no structures that might indicate a prison of sorts. When she found the largest tent in a cluster, she peeked inside and gasped.

Link was there, floating in an amber magical crystal prison. His head was drooping, brow slightly furrowed in pain, shadows across his face even in the glowing light. His green tunic was stained with blood and dirt, right leg bent the wrong way, brown trousers darker than they should be, saturated with blood and heaven only knew what else. His hair was matted, colored like an artist’s palette where light gold and crimson mixed together, patches of blood clot and dirt holding clumps of hair hostage.

Goddesses.

Impa rushed forward, tracing her hands along the smooth crystal, wondering how in the world she was supposed to release him. She pulled out a knife first, whispering his name desperately as she slammed against his prison. The knife was getting her nowhere, though, and she knew she’d have to use magic to break through. Link didn’t budge, limp in midair.

Thankfully, all Sheikah knew magic, and she focused hers to her hands, pressing her palms to the amber. Although her magic was hardly ever used for brute force, she could connect it enough with the magic encasing him that it started to crack. She heard some noise outside and overhead, and she whirled around as the crystal continued to fracture, armed and ready for a fight. When no one entered the tent, she listened closer and realized it was beginning to rain.

Good. That would help cover their escape. It would make sending off the signal difficult, though.

When Impa returned her attention to the amber in the center, it was falling to pieces, chunks of crystal dissipating into the air, until she could reach in and grab the young warrior. The prison faded immediately as soon as she pulled him to her, and his full weight bore down on her. Impa drew him close, trying to support the dead weight by bringing his center of gravity to hers, but she still stumbled as she held him to her chest.

“Link,” she whispered, strained and desperate and scared for him.

The teenager groaned in reply, hissing when his right leg scraped against the ground. Impa knelt down, lowering them both to the earth so she could rearrange him a little, slinging an arm over her shoulders. He flinched and almost cried out until she slammed her palm over his mouth to muffle the sound.

“I’m getting you out of here,” she told him softly, gently, as reassuringly as she could, heart breaking for the kid. She braced herself and stood once more. Link, addled as he was, tried to put some weight on his good leg, and she was grateful for it. “You must stay quiet. Understood?”

Across camp, Ganondorf picked up his pace as he listened to battle break out in the open field. Rain started to pelt against him before it became a steady downpour, decreasing visibility. This attack was so abrupt, and it didn’t seem like they had the numbers for an assault like this. It was either utter desperation, or…

He had to move quickly.

When he reached his tent, he got as far as opening the flap to enter when he saw the empty space in the center. His heart felt it stopped a moment, cold ice filling his veins, and he snarled, drawing his swords and prowling the surrounding area as he alerted his troops. They couldn’t have gotten far.

A few rows of tents away, Impa dragged Link as best she could, her grunts of exertion covered by the torrential rain. Link had tried his best to assist, but he was mostly dead weight hanging off her. He was spending all his energy gritting his teeth and trying not to make a sound as his broken leg was scuffed along the earth and stones. Impa just needed to get somewhere they could pause and she could concentrate long enough to get them out of there. Then she could worry about sending the signal to everyone.

Ganondorf’s voice echoed across the way, disappearing in a peal of thunder. Impa froze nonetheless, swearing she heard something, heart skipping a beat. Her breath quickened, and she tried to move faster.

The Gerudo king rounded another corner, and the opposing combatants froze as their eyes met.

“Link, hold on to me,” Impa ordered breathlessly, standing her ground. Ganondorf charged, a snarl on his lips, blades at the ready. The young Sheikah moved feebly, and she repeated, more frantically, “Link, hold on to me!”

She felt him put enough weight on her with a trembling grip that she could release him and focus her energy and magic. Ganondorf was ten paces away and closing, hunger and rage in his eyes, and he moved in to strike.

Her body warmed despite the frigid rain and her adrenaline. Link moved abruptly, throwing her off for a second, and Ganondorf flinched a moment as a kunai sliced his cheek open. It didn’t quite stop his attack, but it did make him stutter a moment, surprised and confused and realizing—

Link glared at him, balefulness painted in every aspect of his face, hand still thrust outward from the toss that could have taken out an eye if he’d aimed better. The shock of the move didn’t last long, and Ganondorf was on them in an instant, massive swords held over his head as if to crush them.

Impa finally had enough energy summoned, and she and Link vanished in a heartbeat as the Gerudo’s blades sank into the earth.

His battle cry echoed in the air, absorbed in the rain like water to a sponge. Ganondorf didn’t move for a long while, and the downpour was deafening.

XXX

It was honestly a near miracle that everything had worked out as it had.

Once the signal from the Sheikah chief had been fired into the air, the remainder of her task force and the Hyrulian army retreated before being reinforced by House Serenne’s militia. Queen Zelda herself also sent more troops from Castle Town, leaving the capital’s defenses unnervingly thin, but that changed when the Hero was escorted back there to recover.

Zelda found herself wandering one of the many castle halls that had been converted into a hospital area, trying to help out as best she could. She didn’t have the time she did when she was a princess, but she still tried to assist the overworked healers. She hated to hear the moans of the dying and injured, but she’d started to grow accustomed to it.

When she didn’t see the Hero anywhere, though, she started searching other areas for him.

She eventually found him sitting on a cut down tree at the edge of the city, its base large enough to fit three Hylians. He stared off at the sunset, his back to her, posture slumped, hair a disheveled mess. She could see the tears in his clothing, and she grew worried as she moved faster to reach him.

“Link,” Zelda called gently, walking into his periphery. He didn’t bother acknowledging her at first, and so she hesitantly sat beside him. “You shouldn’t be out here. They said you were hurt pretty badly. Let me take you back to the castle, okay?”

“I’m fine,” he replied quietly, glancing down at his hands. “I drank a potion. They patched me up on the way to the capital, anyway.”

To emphasize his point, he played with the empty bottle in his hands, and then gave her a halfhearted smile. His face was still bloody, exhaustion etched into every corner of his being, emphasized by the lines under his eyes. Zelda had never seen him in such a state, and it frankly left her so unsettled that for a moment, she didn’t know what to say.

“You still need to rest,” she tried to insist, not entirely used to him ignoring her.

Link said nothing for a long time, the air around them stilling. Then he said, softly, “I’m sorry you had to fight your father for the throne.”

Zelda blinked, a little caught off guard, wondering why this was being brought up. Was he going to mention how she’d cried that night?

Wait. She… she remembered seeing him with the Gerudo delegation often before the war.

“Not that he didn’t deserve it,” Link continued with a dark huff of a laugh. “He was a terrible king and a terrible man. But… I’m sorry you had to overthrow him, to…”

Her friend swallowed, face hardening, glaring into the sunset, its light reflecting fire in his eyes.

“I’m sorry,” he repeated before putting the bottle down between them and patting her on the shoulder. He rose, walking to the western end of camp, his silhouette cutting into the dusk’s light, shadow growing ever longer. Zelda watched him go uncertainly, heart aching at her own confrontation and what she was beginning to assume must have happened when he’d been captured.

Link moved in silence, ignoring the world around him, until he reached the basins of water where he could wash his face. Some sanitary supplies were nearby, and he wordlessly rinsed the blood and dirt away. He paused when he grabbed a shaving foam, staring at it and the razor beside it.

The area was deserted. The Hero stood alone in the center, eyes fixed on the shaving supplies. And then he burst into tears, burying his face in his left hand, Farore’s blessing dully shining through the blood that dripped off his knuckles.

[luna-loveboop]

@skyloftian-nutcase I want Power Link merch

Getting invested in others ocs is so fun, like there's an awesome amount of content and updates and random memes, it's just like this little fandom between an author and their followers for their trauma blorbo and it's fun to spend immense amounts of time reading and rereading about them the only downside is there's no merch

[blueskittlesart]

something im very confused about in totk that i wanted to get your take on: do you think the imprisoning war is the war from the tapestry impa mentions in botw? iirc the time matches, and the sages are wearing divine beast masks, but there’s no mention of sheikah tech whatsoever (makes sense bc of the game’s focus on zonai tech instead i guess but still) + they aren’t really fighting calamity ganon in totk. also to me it seems like they sorta implied in the hateno school quest that the tapestry was depicting the calamity 100yrs ago (might be misremembering but that’s the vibe i got)

they're 2 seperate events as far as i can tell! the timeline looks something like this:

some unspecified point over 10 thousand years before botw: sonia & rauru's hyrule is founded, the imprisoning war happens because ganondorf, the king of the gerudo, becomes power-hungry and attempts to gain power via sonia's secret stone. rauru seals him below hyrule castle.

roughly 10 thousand years before botw: the first calamity as depicted in the tapestry. presumably a manifestation of ganondorf's power, but not actually ganondorf himself. closer to the calamity as seen in botw. divine beasts and guardians are built, champions and hero & princess as depicted in the tapestry fight this calamity and win, but neglect the root of the problem (sealed ganondorf.) guardians and divine beasts are buried after this calamity.

roughly 100 years before botw: the SECOND calamity, experienced by botw's link and zelda. guardians and divine beasts are unearthed. link, zelda, and the champions fall at the hands of this calamity.

events of botw -- link's resurrection, reclamation of the divine beasts, eventual defeat of the calamity.

sometime before totk: divine beasts & guardians are dismantled (?) lookout landing is built, hyrule begins to rebuild

roughly 5-6 years post-botw: events of totk--ganondorf's resurrection, the upheaval, zelda's time-travel, link's defeat of ganondorf.

so the imprisoning war and the calamity are 2 entirely separate catastrophes. hyrule truly cannot catch a break

[tokiro07]

My roommate asked me, in Star Wars terms, what "episode" the first Zelda would be

This of course led to a 45-minute lecture about how the Zelda timeline is structured

The answer I ended up giving him is that it's the Fallen Hero equivalent of Rise of Skywalker, down to "somehow Ganon has returned", but I also came to a realization within my lecture

Back when Skyward Sword came out, I heard some heated discussion about how when the Hero of the Sky went back in time to defeat Demise before the events of Skyward Sword could occur, erasing him from existence rather than sealing him to become The Imprisoned, a new branch in the timeline should have been created the same way that it was when the Hero of Time returned to his own era and prevented Ganondorf's theft of the Triforce of Power

Given that we've now seen in Tears of the Kingdom that the Kingdom of Hyrule was founded by the union of the Zonai and Hylians rather than the people of Skyloft, is it possible that the Zonai either came into being or were prevented from going extinct because of Demise's defeat? The Sheikah are near nonexistent in the time of Skyward Sword, but the younger Impa that guides Zelda is from the past - from Demise's time, so did Demise's defeat allow for the Sheikah to flourish and create technology based on what ended up being left behind by the Zonai?

It seems like a common belief at this point that all of the other Zelda games are quite literally the "Legends" of Zelda in the context of Breath and Tears, that they're folktales rather than history, but if there's a way for them to still be connected to the rest of the timeline, I'll take a convoluted and fun explanation over one that completely divorces itself from the rest of the series entirely

[skyloftsword]

Why Tears of the Kingdom is the Breath of the Wild I was hoping for

Alright, so before I get into my rant. I really like Breath of the Wild. It's a very fun game and the events of 100 years ago are super interesting. It just... unfortunately let me down after Skyward Sword in two aspects that I personally feel Tears of the Kingdom succeeded at for me. Story and dungeons. Also please don't tell me to watch a Youtuber on why TotK is worse than nuclear war. I make my own opinions and my take on TotK is very unlikely to change. I have done 6 playthroughs and still feel this way. Spoiler warning.

Okay, so my issue with Breath of the Wild's story is how it feels like a mess at times. The memories don't even try to tell anything coherent outside of the final few. Some of them even need journals for any payoff as well. This system also limited the Champions from getting any development or character arcs. It took until Tears for me to appreciate them because Hyrule was still grateful for them. Revali's bow being treasured by Teba, Riju prays to Lady Urbosa in her diary, Mipha got Mipha's Court and Sidon's entire character arc was about how her death still haunts him and he doesn't want that to happen ever again. Daruk... got lights added to his statue's eyes I guess. Anyways, Tears' equivalent to them is the Neo Sages. Tulin, Riju, Sidon and Yunobo. They each get their own arc and you can tell how much they have grown since Breath of the Wild. What makes them better here is that they actually are relevant for more than just the Divine Beast boarding segments. Sidon deals with fear of losing his beloved Yona just like how he lost Mipha 105ish years ago, yet Yona and Link bring him to his senses. Riju goes from being stressed out about how she's too weak to defend Gerudo Town from the Gibdos with her aim, but Link returning reassures her. Tulin goes from being arrogant and thinking he can do anything all by himself to realizing that charging ahead all on his own is a bad idea and that working as a team is the best way to do things. Yunobo goes from being a manipulated crack dealer to being cowardly again for a bit to becoming courageous and willing to fight to defend Hyrule. These arcs help me appreciate the characters a LOT more. The Old Sages intentionally aren't fully fleshed out characters and its fine because they're barely on screen (their names are Ruto, Darunia, Nabooru and possibly just Medoh for the Rito Sage). Ganondorf being an actual character really helps as well. He wants to use the godlike power of the Secret Stones to his advantage to achieve total rule of the world (in the English localization at least). Rauru and Sonia are wonderful characters that actually try to help Zelda achieve her goal of returning to her time (nice opposition of Rhoam forcing her to achieve her light powers and being harsh towards her). Unlike the events of 100 years ago, the memories/Tears in this game actually focus on telling what led to the Imprisoning War in a specific order. The events in the memories and Tears also are all relevant and side stuff was pushed to the Stone Monument side adventure. Unfortunately the game is less linear than Breath (which honestly should be the other way around and is a massive storytelling issue), however Impa at least alludes to the order of the Tears when you go to the Forgotten Temple after the first one. The Fifth Sage quest is also an incredible questline that did what BotW should have done. It showed the Imprisoning War and how Ganondorf shouldn't be taken lightly. I seriously feel let down not seeing Link and Zelda fight the Calamity and losing. Also thank god you don't have to do an absurdly tedious backtrack quest to unlock the Camera, Tears, the Champion Leathers and the Kohga fight.

Onto the dungeons. I don't get why people switched up on the Divine Beasts in a positive way. They have a great gimmick and the "fights" are cool but that's it. The puzzles are... fine I guess? The visuals are cookie cutter and so are the bosses in every aspect except gameplay (and are basically just the Calamity split into 1/4). Tears' Temples are legitimately the most enjoyable dungeons in the series for me. The atmosphere, music, puzzles having a large amount of solutions, etc. Not to mention the boss fights actually being unique and very fun this time (BotW had some bangers too like Koshia and Thunderblight) and have unique fight themes that are so, so, so good. Seized Construct might be my favorite non-final battle boss theme for me. Also the pre-dungeon segments actually feeling like dungeons for 4/5 of them really helped make me like them more. Both games also have great and bad Shrines. TotK has far less bad ones and has a much better vibe with it's Shrines.

Anyways, ramble over. Thanks for reading. The only reason I made this post was because I was pissed off due to personal reasons. I love these games and this series so please don't take this as me hating BotW.

[ym-loreposting]

Inspirations for the Sages in A Link Between Worlds

The Sages in A Link Between Worlds are a diverse bunch of characters, unlike the Sages and Maidens from its prequel A Link to the Past, who are all depicted as the same robed men or color-swapped girls respectively. They seem to take more after the Sages from Ocarina of Time, who are from a variety of races and are more distinctive overall. While some of the Sages in A Link Between Worlds take after those from Ocarina of Time, most of them are firmly rooted in A Link to the Past.

Gulley

Gulley is often said to be inspired by the Kokiri from Ocarina of Time, but I don't think that is necessarily correct. Instead, he takes far more after Flute Boy from A Link to the Past in his design. Flute Boy is also found in the Haunted Grove in A Link to the Past, a place that Gulley also frequents. It is possible that the Kokiri as a whole were inspired by Flute Boy as well, given their similar designs, but Gulley's design remains closer to Flute Boy's than to the Kokiri.

Oren

The enemy Zora queen Oren does seem to take after Ruto from Ocarina of Time, as she has a far more humanoid design than the other enemy Zoras that appear in many of the 2D Zelda games. But she does also remain steeped in A Link to the Past, as her Zora's Domain is where Zora's Waterfall was in that game. Oren's design falls more in the middle between the Zora designs common in the 3D games and the enemy Zoras seen in the 2D games.

Rosso

Rosso is a bit of a contentious topic, though he does have obvious ties to the Gorons. He has a belt buckle bearing their symbol and also looks the part with his physique, though he has a few non-Goron traits as well such as ears and fiery red hair. In-universe, he is just a human as Gorons were revealed to sprout from the ground in Tears of the Kingdom, which would make Rosso having Goron ancestry difficult. That said, he still is a clear reference to the Gorons given he is a miner on Death Mountain and he doesn't seem to take after any character from A Link to the Past.

Osfala

Osfala doesn't take from any character in particular, instead seemingly being inspired by how sagely characters were depicted in A Link to the Past in general. This includes the robed sages of the Imprisoning War and their descendant Sahasrahla. Unsurprisingly, Osfala is also the apprentice of A Link Between Worlds's incarnation of Sahasrahla.

Irene

Irene takes after the witches Syrup and Maple from A Link to the Past (specifically its GBA release where Maple is concerned), which is also evidenced by Irene living in the same hut as them. She lives alongside her grandmother, who may actually be an elderly Maple, given her Lorule counterpart is called "Mapes".

Impa

Impa has been a staple of the series since its inception, appearing since the first Zelda game. Impa in A Link Between Worlds is an elderly lady, which is how she appears in the original NES titles, Skyward Sword, Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom. Impa in A Link Between Worlds is part of this line of old Impas and doesn't pull from any one incarnation in particular.

Seres

Finally, Seres is a reference to the Maidens from A Link to the Past, who served the same role as the Sages in A Link Between World do gameplay-wise. She is a maiden as well who takes after them when it comes to appearance. Her father meanwhile is the Priest of the Sanctuary. While a similar character did exist in A Link to the Past, he did not have any confirmed family that can serve as a more concrete analogue to Seres.

[smilesrobotlover]

WAIT I know what to ask

What’s an AU of your AU that you’ve created that’ll never be anything serious to write or draw about but lives rent free in your brain and is fun to indulge in?

I would go first but… yeah. You saw the post 🤣 also I don’t think you are all that interested in the imprisoning war stuff (which is fine! We all have what we like and don’t like), so that’s a moot point anyway lol 😂

Oh boy do I have many. Idk if these count as aus with aus but my lbl pt 2 au with my link ocs all meeting. Plus another au within an au (which is more of a sequel honestly) is where the links meet up again but only the ones with kids so the kiddos can meet (Kori meeting miphlink son, Dallon, etc). And the dads all meet up again. There’s also an au within an au where the dads interact with the villain squad which I sorta played with in whumptober, and there could also be the strangers across eras pt 2 but it’s for Zelda’s and not Links so the characters are all different (save Rusl, Leon, Linebeck, Alfonzo, and hw Impa lol) but that’s honestly more of an au by itself

There’s also one where it’s Talon and Fierce Deity doing shenanigans while he’s tryna find his friends again. That one I might do tho cuz it’s so fun :)))

But yeaaaahbholy crap so many aus XD

And I’m sorry 😭😭 I don’t want to say that I’m uninterested I just haven’t gotten around to it. I might’ve missed the explanation post for it? Is that with Orik and Ganon’s daughter (either Heimisi or Heisimi lol)? Idk, but yeah sorry 😭😭😭 I always feel bad not getting involved with all the aus my friends have

[writingnocturne]

On Forbidden Ground

This is my contribution to @zelinkcommunity's Zelink Week 2023! Day Two: Forbidden

Look below the break to read! Be sure to check out everyone else's work, as well! They did great!

{ For this week, I will be posting a little peek at art/writing for memories in Call of the Forgotten, a TotK rewrite I am working on (there will obviously be direct and indirect spoilers for TotK). These memories will be posted out of order and are subject to change. They follow the Ancient Hero and Princess during the time of the First Great Calamity. }

Memory ?? – On Forbidden Ground

( Word Count – 1,625 )

A young woman approaches the edge of a forest of ruin. She travels along the Dracozu River, even the ripples of the water carrying her reflection with trepidation. Higher cliffs hang not far above her head, looming over the thin slits of land she has to travel upon. It occurs to her that she would have benefited from bringing along a boat, but it's far too late to turn back now. She braved this accursed wood on a whim; chasing a hope for her people.

You are chosen, Impa had told her, As a child of Light and Time– one born from the bloodline of Hylia herself– you are perhaps the only one worthy of bearing the complete Triforce upon her hand. Awaken it, and perhaps this Calamity you foresee shall fall before it even begins.

This land– the land of Faron– has been one forbidden to set foot in since she was young. However, legend properly written down by the late Queen Sonia states that a magical spring within it is hidden beyond the walls of a temple; one built to resemble a spring of the earth in ancient myth. Although later taken over by an outcast clan of barbarians, the lands holding the site were once the home of King Rauru's own ancestors; and hers. It was a place of ceremony, dedicated to the guardian dragons they worshiped. She hopes, if anywhere, she will have the best luck starting from here. Passing through this place, seeing the old statues overturned and overwhelmed by overgrowth, carries a sort of bitterness; yet this bitterness is nothing she is not already familiar with. This shell of a place is the same as the life she once knew: an empty realm of memories one simply cannot grasp. The emptiness remains, but the resentment it brings alongside it is unmatched. Creatures that once lurked in the night followed the order of the demon responsible for this hollow state. She once hid from them, in fear that The Demon King would discover the heir of his mortal enemy and try to bring her to the same fate as her mother. At that time, she was young… She never could have accounted for the people that had no option to run.

The princess becomes distant from the world she travels amidst; something that has become the norm when her thoughts dwell in a time now lost. It leaves her unaware. This moment of staring off soon twists into folly as, by the time she snaps back into reality, her attention is caught by the sound of swift movement through the tall grass. The young woman is quick to turn her head back towards the source. In unison, a golden aura emits from her body and stops a weapon mid-air. It was mere inches from striking the back of her head… it surely would have knocked her unconscious. She squints, perplexed by the weapon's structure. Suspended before her is a bat with blades fastened into the wood. Resembling a weapon of which a monster would have carried during the Imprisoning War, the club has a peculiar green substance securing the individual parts. As if she has forgotten the obvious threat of whatever threw the weapon, she slowly brings a hand towards it to inspect what has been done to upgrade such a primitive weapon this way. It is almost… familiar. The instant she attempts to investigate where she recognizes the substance from, however, she feels a heavy force drive into her back.

Zelda is sent down to the earth, managing to catch herself just before she can collide with it at full-force. Instinct kicking in, she immediately turns herself to be sure her attacker cannot catch her off guard again whilst she tries to stand. This reveals their now-visible silhouette to be close; they are close enough to easily kick the princess's stomach and pin her down with their weight. She grunts as she finally is forced down. Zelda lifts her right hand to focus a surge of light energy towards the figure, but finds herself pausing at the sight of a paralleled action from her attacker. A green energy comes from their own aimed arm, streams of its power leaking out into the air around them. It now illuminates their form in the shade of the canopy. Although their flowing red hair strikes her as odd, it is their face that particularly stands out. Unlike any Hylian, they have an almost animalistic appearance. And upon their forehead: a tear-shaped stone emits the faintest light of its own.

Almost breathless, she mutters the baffling realization aloud, "You're…– You're a Zonai."

The Zonai's blue eyes widen slightly as they gaze upon her, their right hand leaving the surface of their left arm as the glow slowly dims. She keeps an eye on every movement they make, but they do not seem intent on attacking again. The figure brings their hand to their face, their fingers spread out across it, before… removing this face entirely. In a short flash of light, she finds the Zonai has disappeared. It has been reduced to a carved face in the hands of a new person: a shorter Hylian with a mass of long red hair falling to his sides. He shares the same blue eyes, which continue to stare at the princess for a moment or two in thought. Still alarmed, regardless, Zelda hurriedly scoots back from the figure before returning the gesture with locked eyes.

"You're… like me." His eyes trail to her left arm as he mumbles his words. Zelda looks down to it as well, recalling the clash both lines of her ancestors have over her appearance. It shows even in her ears, which are large and aligned with her hair. With this shared understanding out of the way, the young man suddenly offers a hand to her to help her up. This is certainly an unexpected shift, but the princess would rather accept it over the fight that was seconds away from breaking out. Although hesitant, she slowly places her hand in his own. Less than a second follows before he pulls her up into a stand, then finding he has to now look up to the girl instead. "...you aren't a monster, then."

"Did you… think I was?" Zelda tilts her head, her long ears angling downward slightly. The boy simply shrugs. Perhaps he did, but perhaps he just didn't take the time to properly look at her. It has been years since he's really seen a monster. "...The Imprisoning War has been over for… for over a decade. There haven't been monsters since. How long have you…–?" The boy simply turns around, suddenly beginning to lead her off. "Hey–! What are you doing?"

He glances back for a second, blankly staring again. The young man subtly points ahead of him, but realizes this is not a sufficient answer for the princess. It takes him a while before he eventually decides to give a verbal answer, "...You're going to the head of the river."

Zelda seems slightly surprised that he knows this, but she supposes he must have noticed her following the river. She nods. For him to have attacked her like that initially… Did he aim to protect it? If he is the only one left in these woods, he must have. Such a thought leaves the returning bitterness in her chest. She pities this boy, understanding quickly that both have been barred away– forbidden by fate to have the peaceful lives that they were owed as youth. Deciding they have this common ground, she speaks, "My name is Princess Zelda of Hyrule, daughter of King Rauru and Queen Sonia."

"..." The boy peers back, looking incredibly disturbed by the length of that title. It's clear he tries to brush it off, although he knows his own name is rather bland in comparison, "...Link."

"Link… That does sound familiar…" The princess thinks aloud, finding her gaze wandering back down to his arm. Within the mysterious Zonai form he took, his arms glistened with an eerily recognisable power. It looked similar to her own, but far more decorated. It… reminds her of someone.

As Link leads Zelda over ruin– unintentionally nearly tripping her a time or two– he pulls her along until they reach a split in the river. The Dracozu ends in a pond that jaggedly takes two routes, presenting itself like a set of open jaws. The girl's initial thought is that this is what Link meant by the "head," yet her mind easily changes upon seeing the Great Dragon Head statue casting a shadow upon them both.

"This must be it. The Spring of Courage." Taking a step towards it, the princess focuses on the statue visible within the dragon's mouth. It sits, overlooking the spring, as countless durians oddly float around it upon the water's surface. The statue of Hylia wears a mask of its own: one that imitates the dragon-like face of the figures outside. She decides not to question this fact, for now, simply entering the forsaken yet sacred ground. Link's footsteps are more than audible following behind, which is rather expected. "Link–" The girl turns her head back to the peculiar stranger, "Thank you." Zelda is about to say more, but her words come to a sudden halt. Although their encounter was certainly strange enough, she could have sworn that the eyes of his mask… moved. This is the final detail it takes for her to redirect the course of her words. The princess takes a deep breath, then makes her decision: "There is something I must do here, but… Link, once I am done, may I speak to you for a while longer?"

Thank you for reading! Check out the first concept doodles of them here! Obviously, this is all very incomplete; but most is planned out thoroughly! If you have questions, just ask!

Art Info: (Check my art blog @nocturnalfandomartist!)

Program: Ibis Paint X

Time Elapsed: 7 hours, 27 minutes

[crazylittlejester]

I think a rarely seen angst idea is the main hero learning that the villain is related to them in some way. So...

- Legend learned probably during his first or second adventure that he was Ganon's nephew. The mere thought made his blood grow cold and bile rise to his throat. How could he be related, by body and blood, to that thing he has fought time and time again. He's thankful that he wasn't tainted by his malice, but that doesn't make it any easier to swallow.

-Hyrule didn't realize until much later down the line, possibly by Aurora. Maybe they were looking through old records from the eras long before theirs, only to find the bloodline that belonged to Ganon. He was sickened and disturbed, and by both his decision and hers, they burned the scroll. Hyrule hated him enough as is, they would hunt him down if they ever knew.

-Sky always knew that something was slightly off about himself. He had abilities that the others didn't, and upon learning that the Master Sword didn't burn the other heroes when they wielded it was a little strange. Fi always hinted that he wasn't something mortal, but he always brushed it off as his own paranoia. Sun knows, deep down. She knows that he is the bastard son of Demise, and that is a secret that will go with her to the grave.

-Time's mother would have been considered a lucky woman by a lot of people. To be chosen by the king of the Gerudo of all people to marry would have been an honor, and she considered it so. She would birth him a son, one with a pointy little nose like his and eyes as blue as hers. Time knew after connecting the dots during his adventure. The similarities he had with the king of thieves was far to many for any denial. It's a secret only Wars and Malon knows. The shame he feels is something beyond all else.

-Four was blessed by the winds, that's what his grandfather told him. He could easily tell if a storm was coming or if the winds were trying to lead him somewhere. That's how he got around in his journey to help the minish and when he drew the four sword. He, just like Sky, is unaware that Vati was his grandfather's brother. Wizards age much slower than non magic folk, which could easily make anybody none the wiser. He simply inherited a little bit of magic from that side of the family, that's all.

-Warriors was told outright by Impa that he was the son of Volga. He was given two options by his commander, renounce the man and deny any relations to him, or be killed for being an accessory to his war crimes. He wasn't foolish, and took the former. It didn't soften the blow after the war that his father was killed in the final battle against Cia, but what's done is done. He does often wonder if he could've harnessed his draconic side if he had betrayed the kingdom instead, but dwelling onwhat ifs never helped anybody.

-Twilight, being Time's decendant, makes him related to Gabondorf as well. Unfortunately, it seems he inherited that cruel man's tendency to lean into magics and weapons that belongs to that of darkness. The dusk could easily claim him as its own, and the shadow that plagues them all seems to have an easier time replicating his very form and personality. If he were to adorn the blasted armor Ganondorf wore during their final encounter, it would look as if made for him. Another Link who likes to pretend he knows nothing.

-Wild was born many eras before Hyrule was truly the empire it is (or once was, after the Calimty struck) today. Born between a simple human woman and the first Gerudo male to be born, he was a bright little angel. But, all good things must come to an end, and after the Imprisoning War, the young woman sought for anything to prevent her child from being executed for his father's crimes. A kind woman, Zelda, she called herself, offered to help. The young boy was swept away to an era out of reach, and the woman slept easy knowing her little boy was safe. She does wonder what happened to that kind woman, maybe it has to do with the beautiful dragon that now lingers in the sky?

-Wind is the luckiest in terms of relations. He was so far removed from Time that one could simply say that they were to distant to be proper relatives. His Ganondorf knew that the boy was somebody who could've been the heir to his throne so many ages ago, and he reminded him so much of how he was back when he was younger. He might have been blessed to not be closely relate to him, but Wind was the only one of them all to be seen as family by him.

yo dude, you put a lot of thought into these, these are cool! i don’t usually headcanon things like this but it’s such an interesting idea and definitely adds a whole new layer of angst and suffering 😭 ESPECIALLY THE WARS AND VOLGA ONE LIKE DAMN? AND WILD?? OUGH.

[the-au-collector]

So the fact that Christianity exists in Legend of Zelda is endlessly interesting to me. Obviously, it's very different than our version that exists in real life but like... it's just really fun to play with.

Anyways here's my thoughts:

The Ocarina of Time Sages (Zelda, Impa, Ruto, Rauru, Naboru, Saria, Darunia) are saints

So I feel like this doesn't need a ton of explaining. In-universe, the towns in LoZ are named after the Sages so obviously they're pretty important. It doesn't really make sense to me why they wouldn't be canonized. Especially since they all have some sort of powers or holiness anyways due to being Sages.

But Who is Jesus

This one is a little less clear. Since I'm worldbuilding Legend's Hyrule right now (and I love the idea that Legend is Christian) and they kind of really hate the Hero of Time since he failed and all, it can't be Time. I feel like Sky and Sun are a little too intrinsically connected to Hylia and everything. And since Christianity believes in God and not Hylia I doubt they'd make Sky or Sun Jesus (they probably in some way still incorporate Hylia . Most likely, they have a saint based off her or she's an angel. Sky and Sun would likely become saints as well under that logic). So I have a few options:

Option One: process of elimination leaves the hero between Sky and Time as a possible candidate. That would be Four. I like the idea of the whole Christianity thing existing before the timeline split but, like in real life, it didn't get very popular for a few centuries. In the other timelines, it would have fizzled out. But because of Time's defeat, Christianity just gets more popular in the Downfall Timeline. I'm not sure what the exact story surrounding Four would be. I want it to somewhat mirror real-life Christian beliefs, after all. At the same time, I'm kind of on the fence about making the Jesus-figure one of the heroes.

Option Two: Mido is Jesus. There's this theory I saw about Mido becoming a hero after Time's defeat and helping during the Imprisoning War, which is why he gets a town named after him in LoZ. I just think it would be cool. Again, I'm not sure what his story would be yet but at least his is a lot more flexible to work with.

I'm curious about what everyone else things, though? I'm really torn between "Four is Jesus" and "Mido is Jesus." On one hand, Four would be funny, but Mido sort of make sense.

[no-shower-thoughts-head-empty]

New Hyrule Warriors Game Concept

A game taking place during the Imprisoning War (the one in A Link to the Past's story specifically, shortly after Ocarina of Time) While you can play as multiple characters, Zelda is definitely the main focus as she deals with the grief and guilt over forcing Link to skip seven years of his life just to die facing Ganon. Throughout the story, she seeks out the Seven Sages and eventually they all succeed in sealing Ganon away.

There aren't very many significant characters in Ocarina, but I feel the selection I thought of was decent:

Link (dies in the first stage but can be re-unlocked outside of the main story; fights like his Hyrule Warriors counterpart with the normal sword and shield, as the Master Sword doesn't have the ability to shoot energy beams in OoT)

Zelda (fights with magic/Bow of Light)

Sheik (slightly nerfed from Hyrule Warriors counterpart)

Ganondorf (fights with a trident and dark magic)

Rauru (fights with a magic staff)

Saria (fights with the Fairy Bow)

Darunia (similar to first Hyrule Warriors game but better)

Ruto (similar to first Hyrule Warriors game but better)

Impa (fights with a katana)

Nabooru (fights with Silver Gauntlets)

Dampé (fights with shovel, ghosts and undead monsters)

Malon (rides Epona)

Twinrova (fights with fire and ice magic)

Skull Kid (slightly nerfed from Hyrule Warriors counterpart)

Happy Mask Salesman (uses masks to fight enemies)

[skyloftian-nutcase]

Whumptober Day 3 - Set up for Failure

Link walked the castle hallways in the dark. Occasionally he could still feel slippery warmth on his fingers, a strange echo of what had transpired. Vaguely, in the back of his mind, he found it odd that it would imprint itself on him so much considering it was hardly his first kill.

Perhaps it was just because it had been a while. Or because of who the person had been.

It had been deserved. But he regretted doing so in front of Zelda.

Nausea overcame him, alongside a mind numbing exhaustion that fought for control. His skin crawled, hair on the back of his neck standing on edge, but his mind was so utterly blank he could hardly put together a single thought.

He felt nothing, really, as he continued to walk. His skin settled. He checked his hands once, twice, thrice. No blood. But he could still feel it, could still hear the gurgling breath as air filled pathways it wasn’t meant to, bubbling and drowning.

He wished Zelda hadn’t been there. But there was no avoiding it. The man had lost his mind, had been threatening her. Whether he’d truly meant it or not was a moot point by now; the damage had been done.

The man’s followers had done more damage than anyone. And Link was still very keen on hunting the rest of them down like the animals they were.

He’d spent the last month in a continuous fury, focused and determined in a way he hadn’t been since the war. It had been invigorating, honestly, and it had brought him and Zelda closer together than ever before.

Now that it was over…

Link paused, world growing hazy and spinning. He felt dizzy. He felt sick.

He wished today hadn’t happened. But what else had there been to do?

It was over. That was all that mattered.

The king consort sighed heavily, deciding that perhaps some prayer would settle his rattled mind. He maneuvered through the castle discreetly, entering the small sanctuary dedicated to the goddesses that was set aside for the royal family.

He hadn’t expected to see Zelda there.

The room was only just a little larger than Link’s own bedchambers, wooden pews lining in pairs for four rows, leading up to an altar where the ancient goddesses shimmered in golden splendor high on the wall. Beneath them was a depiction of Hylia, harp in hand. The altar glowed in different colors as moonlight spilled through stained glass, flanked by incense that slowly trailed tendrils up to the heavens.

Zelda sat on the floor just in front of the statues and altar, a blanket wrapped tightly around her, knees drawn to her chest.

Link felt like he shouldn’t be here. He was likely the reason she was praying, hunched over in such a vulnerable position. The Queen of Hyrule should be seated at the pews, or perhaps standing in front of the alter with hands folded over her heart. Instead, she looked like a child seeking comfort. It made Link feel all the more uneasy.

But no. He shouldn’t leave her like this. That was cruel.

Is it crueler for her father’s killer to be near her?

Ozen’s face flashed through Link’s mind again, nagging at him. He shook the image away, only slightly perturbed that it haunted him. He’d killed hundreds. This couldn’t be any different. It couldn’t.

Slowly, Link walked to the front of the chapel, sitting on the floor beside her.

Zelda didn’t acknowledge him initially. The cold of the stone floor brought some life back to him, trying to push the fog in his head away. He started trembling, catching himself off guard.

“Do you think Farore made us to suffer?” the queen asked quietly, eyes never leaving the golden statues above.

Link watched her a moment, uncertain, and then followed her gaze. The Golden Three looked serenely back at the pair. His eyes traced over the scales of justice in Nayru’s hand, over the flowers blossoming and encircling Farore’s arm, the fire and stone sparking around Din’s fingers.

“I don’t see why that would be the case,” he answered truthfully. “They have no need to make us just to watch us suffer.”

“What if we’re their entertainment?” Zelda questioned almost bitterly.

Link honestly sometimes debated if they even mattered to the goddesses, but the Triforce had chosen them, so clearly they had their favor, for whatever that was worth.

“Farore made us for a reason,” Link settled on saying. “I don’t think she wants us to suffer. I wouldn’t make something to watch it suffer. I wouldn’t want to see our children suffer.”

He supposed, then, that perhaps with that logic Farore had to care at least a little bit. But perhaps she was too removed, too busy dealing with something else – his destiny, once entwined to her graces, was over, after all.

“I suppose our suffering is our own fault, then,” he admitted. “We must be doing something wrong.”

He wished he could take the words back as soon as he’d spoken them—he’d decided to sit here to comfort Zelda, blast it—but he had no way to retract them. He himself had thought it multiple times, wondering why he was the way he was. Clearly it was his fault. He didn’t pray enough. He knew that. It wasn’t as if Hylia wouldn’t help if he petitioned her, even if Farore was too far to reach. She’d answered his prayers in the past, when he still bothered to speak to her.

Zelda was quiet for a long time before looking at the ground, pulling her knees a little closer, eyes staring somewhere beyond the stone floor. “We aren’t the only ones Farore made. We all have destinies, we all play our part. Just because others break the pieces of the puzzle, just because we bleed when we try to fit together as a result… that isn’t our fault.”

The words settled heavily in his mind and heart, and a million scenarios ran through his mind. Ganondorf, ruining everyone’s lives with his selfishness and pride. Ozen, almost destroying Hyrule time and again with his own paranoia. Zelda, constantly using those around her to further her agenda.

Link, helpless and pathetic and stupid, letting himself be hurt time and again, wallowing in self-pity like a child pitching a fit, undeserving of any sort of praise or love given all the idiocy he’d done.

He almost smiled. “I’m constantly reminded why Nayru chose you with her grace. I imagine your explanation is the correct one.”

The pair sat beside each other, each lost in their own thoughts. Link wanted to look up at the statues again, perhaps even to try and pray, but found he didn’t even have the energy to raise his head. Instead, he watched his hands, convincing himself he’d scrubbed off the blood for the millionth time that night.

He probably shouldn’t have killed him. Ozen was no murderer. He may have been brandishing a sword, but he hardly knew how to use it. He may have been yelling at his daughter, but he had never actually hurt her.

How could Link have known that she wouldn’t get hurt, though? How could he have stopped himself, when years of anger and hurt snapped at once, when all he saw was blood and all he felt was rage?

What was wrong with him?

What was he at this point? Had he ever been a Hero? He was no Hero now. He hardly felt empathy anymore, hardly felt anything. Dealing with the insurgents was the first time he’d felt life breathe through him in what felt like years.

Even now, despite how he ached at the pain emanating from Zelda, he could still feel anger and impatience trying to burn inside him. He had the gall to be frustrated that Zelda was suffering like this because of his actions, the audacity to be upset that he had to comfort her after she’d watched him murder her father.

When had it gotten this bad? Why couldn’t he fix it? Could he fix it?

Zelda swallowed, taking a slow, deep breath, and when he looked at her, he could see how she bit her lip to control her emotions.

“I still loved him,” she whispered, barely audible, voice breaking.

The queen of Hyrule began to cry quietly, trying to hide her tears from her husband. Link tensed even further, stomach rolling in protest, heart slamming against his ribs. The frustration boiled to the top and he looked away for a moment, frozen in anger and fear and exhaustion and hurt and guilt, not sure what he should feel, knowing, begging himself to comfort the woman beside him, unable to speak a word.

He dug his nails into his skin until they broke through. It made his body feel like ice in an instant, quieting his mind and heart. He felt sick. This was his fault. He wanted to run and never look back.

Instead, he leaned slowly towards her, wrapping an arm around Zelda, inviting her to rest against him. She started to sob, wrapping herself more tightly in her blanket, burying her face in his shoulder.

Link just held her as she cried. He couldn’t speak for the longest time, but the longer her tears stained his tunic, the worse he felt. The anger dissipated, exhaustion burned away, leaving a raw, raw emptiness and hurt that he couldn’t put any words to, a wound that had scarred and reopened time and again over the years, never healing fully, never addressed, and never leaving him alone.

“I’m sorry,” he muttered, hardly able to get the words out. “I’m sorry.”

Once the words came out, they wouldn’t stop. He apologized over and over and over, images of Ozen, of Ganondorf, of Hemisi, of Merovar, of fallen Sheikah and Gerudo and Hylians, of Lady Impa bleeding on the floor after the attack, of his children watching him, of his own blood dripping down his body—I’m sorry, I’m sorry I’m sorry—

The King and Queen of Hyrule wept bitterly into the night, their cries carried on incense rising into the sky.

[ganonfan1995]

Wait I figured out the sword....The Goddess sword is the origin right, I'm deciding that it was originally a Zonai artifact probably crafted by Mineru, who clearly has the ability to transmute souls into objects. (Originally created for Zelda during the long imprisoning war)

This works, and I've decided that Mineru and the Courtier (Impa) had a secondary plan which would result in SS, as a way to restart the Hyrule Monarchy on the surface once the dust settled after the sealing of the Demon King, to ensure Hyrule's continuity into BOTW.

I promise this actually makes sense. I'm fleshing out this timeline as we speak.

[blueskittlesart]

How do you feel about totk shrine reward now that its been a bit? I know originally you were saying zonai, but it has a tail and different face shape, do you think maybe its another species? I feel like we got a lot of species from totk with little explanation, like the beast things in the depth statues. How do you feel about them

my initial thought was half zonai half hylian based purely on visuals. he's got the long snoutlike nose & mouth we see in rauru and mineru, a similarly dark greenish skintone, and his left arm matches link's right one which we know for a fact came from rauru, but he also seems to have a more hylian build, hylian ears, and his face/body paint is quite similar to sonia's. we know that rauru and mineru are the only zonai left in hyrule by the time zelda gets there, meaning that if this character IS half zonai & he came after rauru & sonia's time, it's likely that he's descended from either rauru or mineru. (most likely rauru, since he's the one with a canon hylian wife and an offscreen half-hylian child. lol) supposedly we ALSO have implication that this character may have been the hero from the botw tapestry, the one that saved hyrule from the FIRST calamity. (I haven't actually bothered to find this dialog in-game so i can't confirm 100% but supposedly impa says it.) If we roll with the idea that this guy IS descended from rauru and sonia somehow, that means the tapestry's events and the imprisoning war were fairly close on the timeline, since the zonai bloodline is still pretty strong in this hero. it also means that the hero and princess were potentially brother and sister, which would be a first for this franchise. truly not sure how i feel about the lore implications of this motherfucker. also i still think hes ugly LMAO

[clockwise-works]

So this is a concept of an TotK AoC follow up, which was inspired and somewhat building off the idea of this post by @skyloftian-nutcase, only DELUXE edition! There's not much dialogue at all, and is more so the broad strokes of things.

EDIT: Like half of my tags just... DIDN'T save, I guess? I'll try to see If I can re edit them in

Dearest Mipha,

As we reach the ten year anniversary of Calamity Ganon's defeat next week, I write to you out of worry. The illness Purah refers to as "Gloom" has seemingly only gotten worse in the last few months. Many of the knights, both trainees and royal guards, have become unresponsive, Castle Town itself seeming more and more like a ghost town as of late. The additional aid from the Zora and Gerudo platoons have helped immensely, but we worry this illness will soon spread to the rest of Hyrule.

I tell you this in confidence and with direct permission from Queen Zelda that King Regnant Rhoam has most certainly fallen ill as well. He appears to be in good spirit and health, but the initial symptoms appear to be present. With the estimates of the previous patients, Doctor Purah estimates he has a few months left to hopefully treat this illness, whatever it is.

We have determined that this "Gloom" is originating from beneath Hyrule Castle itself, with traces seemingly traveling through the sewer systems to Castle Town. By the time you are reading this, Zelda, Impa, Terrako, and I will journey beneath the castle to hopefully uncover the root cause of this tomorrow, and with that, develop some sort of counter measure. Unfortunately, this means I will be staying the night here once again to limit any potential contamination. I am truly sorry and miss you and everyone else dearly. This should all be over soon.

With love,

Link

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Link awakes, deep within some mysterious cavern. The room was dark, lined with pulsing green trails and markings upon the walls. With a deep breath he attempts to pick himself up, faltering in the process. Wha- what happened? Looking over his body for any ailments, Link's eyes freeze where his right arm is... No.

Where his right arm was.

His eyes widened in surprise, a million thoughts and questions running through his mind as rapid as a raging river. What happened to his arm?!?! Where was he?! How did he get here? Wha- ...what happened to Zelda and Impa?

Sitting there for a moment to call his nerves, Link closed his eyes, attempted to run through his memories. The last thing he recalled... the four of them were descending down beneath Hyrule Castle. They had discovered some sort of mural depicting a war... the Imprisoning War, as Zelda called it, before continuing further down the caverns.

Unable to recall anything beyond that point, he slowly reopened his eyes, hesitating but ultimately staring at his missing arm. Looking over where it seems to have been removed, Link determined that whatever... whoever did this had done a rather decent job, properly amputated with minimal room for tears.

As he slowly got himself up, a nearby door he had missed in the frenzy slid open, sunlight pouring in, blinding him momentarily. Through the haze were two figures, their forms... odd, to say the least.

As his eyes settled the figures approached, Link tensing up in response, only to be caught off guard by what he was seeing. These two were no living being he was familiar with, no, they looked closer to the Sheikah made Guardians than anything else. Only smaller and blocky, with green and orange-ish hues comprising their bodies. What had he gotten himself into?

______________________________________________________________

It took some time, but thankfully with the help of the two figures, the Constructs, as he had been told by them, most of his questions had been answered.

The Great Sky Island, high in the sky above Central Hyrule and home to a large settlement of these Constructs, was where Link found himself. It... it was a beautiful land, no doubt about it, but even more fascinating was the implementation of this mysterious technology all throughout the island. It was described to him as Zonai made, a name he was sure he had heard of in passing before, something to do with the Faroh Woods, but that was all he could recall. No, what fascinated him was the perfect harmony between nature and machine, a stark contrast to the scattered Sheikah tech remains across Hyrule.

While they weren't sure how Link had appeared, they were the ones to find him in his current condition and determine he needed their aid, placing him in their healing chamber. His arm, having been "damaged beyond repair" and inflicted with a deteriorating condition, was removed by them to ensure his safety and survivability, using this "Zonai Tech" to speed up his recovery time. The ailment that inflicted his arm... it sounded a lot like the Gloom and its effects other have experienced, Link thought. If whatever or whoever did that to him, what could have possibly even happened?

Everything else was still a mystery. Where his allies were and why his memories leading up to all of this had seemingly been erased, as well as a new question arising. How was he meant to get down?

At least, it was a question for only a matter of seconds. One of the constructs to first find Link went on to inform him that during his recovery time, they had begun to construct him a replacement prosthetic but had run into some troubles before his awakening.

Across the island there are four Zonai workshops, each one tasked with constructing a portion of Link's arm, using the Zonai technology to "imbue it with new and powerful magic." When asked why even do this, all the Constructs tell him is they were commanded to do this, not answering who it was that had told them this. Great. Another question.

But all of Link's questions could wait. As described to him, the four workshops have faced recent attacks from monsters, something the Constructs haven't experienced in ages and has as a result slowed their process. Provided with a rusted sword from the Constructs, Link sets off to begin his journey.

______________________________________________________________

Commentary Notes 1 time! So there were a few changes, and I'm going to go through some of them and my reasoning behind said changes. I ultimately decided to place the awakening of Ganondorf around 10 years after Calamity Ganon's defeat for a few good reason. For one, I wanted to give a good amount of time in-between these two events to allow the characters a good decade to grow and change. This also ties into the original premise as brought up by Skyloftian, who concepted this as a father/son TotK story set after AoC with a Miphlink child, so for this child to be old enough to walk/talk/be somewhat independant, I pushed Ganondorf's awakening further back. Sure, there's not much of an in universe reason as of now for WHY it took longer in this timeline, but a good amount of changes occurred in this timeline already, So we could chalk this up to CG not being trapped for 100 years in Hyrule Castle in this continuity.

Another change was the overall beginning of The Great Sky Island. Especially with Link not getting Rauru's arm but instead a Zonai made prosthetic. While the main functionality of the arm is the same as TotK, I kinda prompted this changed idea because I'm not certain if I would include Rauru in this AU to the degree he's used in TotK. Instead, I wanted to play with a different idea. It's SONIA who's been looking out for him, her spirit perhaps trapped similarly to the Champions in BotW, using her latent time powers to use her ghost to save Link and appear in different places in time. I'm still not certain on HOW she would appear, but I think it would be interesting if she was perhaps tethered to Link after his initial confrontation with Ganondorf. Perhaps fragments of her soul were trapped within her stone when Ganondorf killed her and took it, and when using the stone against Link it latched those fragments to him. Idk just an idea for now. If it doesn't play out that way then it can be reverted to Rauru's arm and dropping this Sonia angle.

Another part of the change was to go about how Link acquired his Zonai abilities. In TotK, the arm and the abilities serve as the Sheikah Slate and Runes respectively, which worked really well for BotW, in how it taught you how to use each ability. For this AoC sequel concept, I adjusted this section to better fit a theme of TotK: Community. Instead of Link getting the arm by Rauru and doing it all himself, I thought it would be neat if the Great Sky Island was home to a village of friendly constructs, who took Link in their care and healed him. Link is only able to get this new arm and chance to save Hyrule through the aid of others. I also imagine this serving as a interesting tutorial battle segment similar to AoC missions, where Link must go to 4 points on the map, clear out a stronghold, and in return acquire a new ability and more of his arm. He would start out limited, only able to swing a sword with his non dominant hand, with each cleared stronghold unlocking more moves to learn (shield, bow and arrows, flurry rush, etc). Somewhat similar to the opening battle of AoC and when Link gets Terrako and the Runes.

One last change was Link's memories. I ultimately wrote Link losing those memories of Ganondorf's awakening to better build up his reveal, to build him up as this mysterious and downright dangerous threat. In TotK Link watches as Zelda disappears, this weird Demon King that knows him awakes and raises Hyrule Castle, and nearly kills him. This does lead to some... critiques of TotK and how it feels as if the game acts like Link and everyone are too foolish to figure out what's going on, what with the Puppet Zelda and especially if you did the tears first. So instead, Link doesn't remember Ganondorf. He doesn't remember what happened to Zelda, Impa, and Terrako, so if something weird happens with maybe a random Zelda appearance, it only leaves more questions.

______________________________________________________________

It took some time and effort, but he had done it. The Constructs were safe, and in return he had acquired this new arm. And my, what an arm it truly was. It almost felt natural to him, only taking Link seconds to adjust to the prosthetic, admiring the handy work. But only for a moment. There were questions to be answered, people to be helped, and he had to find his family. They must be worried sick, he figured.

With the arm completed, Link meets back up with the Constructs that first aided him in the Sky Temple of Time, looking for any ideas of a direction to go next. Determining he is ready, the Constructs inform Link that he has been in their care unconscious for three months. Panic overpowers Link, but before he can ask, they state that they waited to tell him this until now to give him time to adjust and steady himself. It... he hated to admit it, but it did work. But still, three months? He couldn't even bring himself to think how this had affected Mipha and Rus (temp name for their kid).

This was all he needed to hear. Thanking the Constructs, Link turns to leave and find a way off the island, only to be stopped by the Constructs. They tell him they have one last thing to gift him, as thanks for aiding them against the unsuspecting monster attacks. Before he can respond that he didn't need a reward, a somewhat larger construct swoops down to where they were, landing right next to the others.

This construct... it was different. Unlike the others this one was a lot more... animalistic, looking almost... almost like a large bird. And Link's assertion happens to be correct, as the Constructs tell him that this is an ancient Construct Companion, made in the image of an ancient race of companion birds that once lived alongside the Hylians that came before them. Before Link could question the implication that Hylians once lived upon the Sky Island, the bird hops over to him, stopping in front of him before turning into a green particle energy similar to that of the blue Sheikah tech. In a moment the particles shoot into his arm, the Constructs explaining that the Companion has chosen Link as it's rider, turning itself into energy and storing itself in his arm to be called upon when needed. With this the Constructs dismiss him, wishing him a safe descent and success in whatever it is he needs to do.

Link makes it to the end of the temple, locating what he speculates is a diving point ancient Hylians used to call upon their Companions. Determining that there happens to be a pond below him, he rationalizes that if all else fails he can dive into the pond, should it come to that.

Taking a running start, he dives. The feeling... it's incredible. The open and strong wind on his face, the adrenalin, he... hadn't felt this in a long time. He knew he would never trade his life, nor is he making light of this situation, but years of continued back and forth between the Domain and Hyrule Castle had definitely been a stark contrast to his life beforehand.

Allowing himself to enjoy the dive for only a moment longer, Link stretches his arm out before himself, tapping it in different spots to summon his Companion. It takes a few tries, but eventually the Companion responds to his call, forming below him and gliding them down to the surface. They would be landing near New Castle Town, Link figured, and hopefully he could find someone, ANYONE, who could give him a rundown of the situation at hand.

But as the two got closer, he just couldn't help but notice the dark smoke coming from the town...

______________________________________________________________

Commentary Note 2! So this segment was relatively shorter, but there is one thing I want to address. The Companion. So yes, the Companion is a very clear callback to the Loftwings, and honestly I'm shocked there wasn't some sort of callback to them in TotK in the first place! Like, they let us make a hover bike, just cut the middleman and give us a Loftwing or hey, a Zonai made one, that lets us fly around before needing to recharge! It was right there! You could even have collectable paint job schematics that let you change its color palette!

...That aside, I decided this is one of the Zonai changes that helps the narrative of this concept. I haven't fully mapped out how SS would fit into this, as I haven't played much of the game, but considering that both SS and TotK attempt to offer a story on the founding of Hyrule, I think it works best to adjust TotK's story to work around SS. And with it, the Zonai Loftwing being made in image of the originals, placing the Zonai AFTER the events of SS.

As for the bird itself, I think it fits as the equivalent to Terrako, where Link has a little buddy that follows him around. In a gameplay sense I imagine battlefields would have two layers to them, and the Companion would allow you to switch between layers and perform combos. However, since this is just a story concept, I envision this as a more convenient way for Link and eventually Rus to scale the Sky Islands. Sure, this means Link ends up with Rus, the occasional appearance of Sonia's spirit, and a Zonai Loftwing, but hey, AoC had multiple people for each mission as well. Oh well.

I think for now I'm going to end the narrative writing here, with the bare essentials of the rest of the original post jotted below for memory. This was getting rather long, and was the heftiest change to the original idea, said idea kinda just skimming over this portion. The last thing I want to addresss, when it comes to Impa and Zelda, I'm thinking of breaking each one up into three different campaigns in a sense. This is just a stray idea, but maybe each one represents some concept of time and history, like Link representing the present, Zelda the future, and Impa the present (which any one of these can be changed, just an idea).

______________________________________________________________

[ So the rest of the original idea was Link landing in New Castle Town and seeing everything has gone awry. The town is in flames and all citizens are seemingly missing, replaced with hundreds of monsters like Redeads and Moblins. What was once the rebuilt New Castle Town is now the Demon's Dominion, in which Ganondorf has stationed the monsters there as a buffer between him and the rest of Hyrule, preventing Link from storming the castle.

So Link retreats to the nearest settlement hoping to get aid and find his family. To Zora's Domain. It isn't an easy journey, as Ganondorf has seemingly undone all their work cleaning up the Calamity's mess, re-stationing monsters all across the land to slow his journey. Initially he thinks he can fly to the Domain, but quickly learns that he and Companion will be shot down by the newer flying monsters.

Eventually they arrive at the Domain, but the once brilliant shimmering blue kingdom is now in disarray. The place is coated in a strange and dense muck substance, with multiple Zoras laying sprawled out and unresponsive and what few nurse Zoras they have tending to the injured.

Soldiers run in and out of the Domain, rapidly exchanging shifts. Link overhears talk of preventing further monster onslaughts from breaching the Domain, leading him to believe the Domain is on the brink of collapse. He attempts to ask what's happening but is met with distrust and accusations of causing all of this, many Zora turning away from and and some knights getting aggressive.

Left confused, Link seeks out Bazz, figuring if anyone would tell him what's going on, it'd be him. Eventually he does find Bazz, who seemingly has risen a rank or two in Link's absence, most likely in response to this disaster. Link asks his questions, and while Bazz initially attempts to remain neutral, he waits for when nearby guards are gone to break rank and get Link up to speed.

He informs Link that a lot of Zoras have been lead to believe Link had begun this assault, although the exact details are unclear, even to him. Before Link can attempt to plead his case, Bazz reassures Link that he knows this isn't true and that he can find King Dorephan in the secure royal hideaway.

Eventually Link determines where this hideaway is, uncovering the king... only to see he's in bad health himself, being tended to and monitored by multiple Zora. The same muck as before is all over him, clearly impacting his breathing and mobility. The Zoras hear Link's arrival, the elders moving to intercept Link before Dorephan awakes.

Dorephan informs Link that when he went missing three months ago a dark figure that looked like him attacked the King. Luckily Sidon was still at Yona's Domain visiting her when this occurred, and has remained there in response to the Domain's struggles. (That's right Dark Link's a part of this! He replaces Puppet Zelda so far, going around and working against our heroes and trying to keep them weakened. This is so now there's an aura of doubt surrounding Link during his travels)

Ever since then the King has been here in hopes of recovering, all the while Mipha runs the kingdom and the soldiers fight back against the growing monster attacks. It's... it's a bad situation, overall.

Link then asks of where Rus is, worried for his boy's safety. Dorephan falters in response, rationalizing that the boy must've snuck off. He explains that Mipha has Rus remain with the King while she is off protecting the Domain, but Rus occasionally grows to miss her and sneaks off to find her, being brought back each time. With this Link goes to find Mipha and Rus, to see his family before Dorephan stops him.

Dorephan looks upon his now son-in-law, the same boy he's watched grow up, and reassures Link he knows it wasn't Link that attacked him, and is confident Link will save their family and Hyrule. It... it's nice to hear, giving Link reassurance that not everything is lost.

So he leaves, making his way to where the muck seems to be originating from, Ploymus Mountain. It's a tough climb, especially with his heavily damaged Zora Armor, which thankfully the Constructs thought to preserve for him, but eventually he makes it. The sight is... certainly something.

A large and dense onslaught of muck is pouring from the heavens, pooling at the top of Ploymus Mountain and threatening to travel down into the Domain and reservoir, potentially polluting all of Hyrule's water. At the center of this is Mipha, who is seemingly using her Water and Healing Magic to clean the muck and prevent it from traveling further.

As he approaches Mipha spots him, overcome with immense hope and joy at seeing him again, moving to embrace him before stopping immediately. It catches Link off guard, but only for a moment, as he quickly rationalizes that if she stops then the Domain is certainly doomed. So he moves to her instead, stopping just short to not distract her further.

It takes them a moment to regain their bearings, Mipha taking a deep breath and attempting to explain what has been going on. Around when Link went missing, monsters arose all over the land, and massive earthquakes shook everything up. Shortly afterwards mysterious Sky Islands appeared in the sky, with the muck falling immediately. When asked why no one else has aided them, she explains that the other tribes are facing disaster as well, the last letter from the Rito Emergency Mailing System having to suspend their efforts to help with the growing storms and low rations.

She then details how some figure had attacked her father, and the guards present were certain it was Link, even Dorephan himself unable to deny the uncanny likeness. In response this has spiraled into a tale of Link betraying the Zoras and using Mipha to get closer to the throne, hoping to topple their kingdom. She tells him she never once believed these accusations, and only prayed everyday for his safety and eventual return.

In the meantime she's been handling running the Domain, spending most her time cleaning the water, and once her magic drains she focuses on directing support troops and reassuring their victory. Link then attempts to explain what happened to him, but struggles with the blank spots in his memory. These blank spots... with the knowledge of this figure that looks like him, it couldn't be him... could it...

Cutting his worry off, Link hears a nearby cry, a cry of excitement, one that he instantly recognizes. Him and Mipha's heads shoot over in the direction of the voice, spotting Rus running over to them. The young boy, overcome with excitement at seeing his father, immediately jumps into his father's arms, Link catching him in response. Reunited. Finally.

The happy moment doesn't last long, unfortunately, as something begins to form from the muck. Catching them off guard, the monster shoots a strong muck projectile at them, Link, quickly hands Rus to Mipha and tosses himself in front to shield them. Only for the attack to never connect.

Opening his eyes he finds a shield surrounding the, but not the one of radiant oranges from Daruk's shield, but rather the shimmering blue of water. Water magic.

He turns, expecting to see Mipha casting a shield around them, but instead finds Rus with outstretched arms, said arms shaking as the shield falters. Link... he's never seen Rus do this! His boy can perform magic! ...Just how much has he truly missed in his absence?

He isn't given much time to ponder, as the monster fully forms and grows in size, threatening to spread the muck in spite of Mipha's efforts. Luckily, Bazz, Gaddisson, and the recently promoted Rivan arrive with a small platoon of soliders, offering aid in the coming fight. They tell Link and Mipha to focus on the monster while they control the muck.

After that I'm not so sure how the rest would play out. I think the Water Temple plays out relatively the same, but perhaps the Brigade goes with them, since AoC always has multiple soldiers on the battlefield. Once Mipha acquires the Secret Stone of Water, she uses it to clean the Domain and the inflicted Zoras, including her father.

Mipha decides it is best for her to remain in the Domain to strengthen their forces for the coming battle, while Link determines it's best to go out and aid the other Champions to grow their numbers. It's a struggle to leave, as he has only just reunited with his family, but both he and Mipha understand this is what their lives call for.

That's what made it even harder thought, as Rus didn't understand this yet. Link attempts to explain this to him, but it falls on deaf ears as Rus pleads for him to not leave them again. How... how could he possibly leave. Sure, it's for the best, but that face...

Dorephan suggests that perhaps Rus could travel with Link for the time being. Link is utterly against this, until Dorephan rationalizes that the Domain still isn't safe, and at any moment another attack could be upon them. The King tells Link that he is by far the most competent warriors he's seen (besides his daughter), and believes Rus would be safest under Link's care.

So we get a father/son journey across Hyrule, uncovering the mysteries of the Zonai Age, the Imprisoning War, and the locations of their lost allies. A journey in which Rus learns to have faith in his skills and capabilities, in which he learns how to thrive given his hearing disability and how to find connections with others in spite of his "one of a kindness." There are no other half/half residents in Hyrule, in which Rus perhaps feels like an outsider to his own people, and makes strong bonds and friendships that go beneath appearance.

A journey in which Link learns to put his trust in his son and recognize that his boy is growing up, that he's becoming his own person. At this point, Link is stressed. Everything's gone to hell, and he's trying to rush things to save everything they fought desperately for. But in that, Link is ignoring the smaller problems. He needs to focus on the bigger issues, less Hyrule falls. But he learns from Rus, a lesson he himself and Mipha taught Russ, to always help people. That there is no greater strength than from those we help and care for. To always find the beauty in life wherever it may be.

Also I'm thinking about half way through, Link and Russ run into Impa and Abel, and the teams switch up a little. Impa takes off with the Champions to aid the Yiga, while Abel sticks with Link and Rus as they make their way to the 5th temple. Basically for a while we get a three generational team, with Abel getting to experience his son's journeys and watch his grandson's growth.